Uber and Nuro initiate testing of a Lucid Gravity robotaxi with employees.

      The Lucid Gravity SUV utilizes Nuro’s autonomous driving technology, which is powered by Nvidia Drive AGX Thor. A safety operator remains behind the wheel. Uber has pledged to purchase at least 20,000 of these vehicles over the coming six years.

      Uber and Nuro have initiated employee test rides for a premium robotaxi service in San Francisco, utilizing the Lucid Gravity SUV equipped with Nuro’s autonomous driving system. Selected Uber employees can now request rides via the Uber app, as the vehicles operate autonomously with a human safety operator available as a backup.

      This initiative represents the latest stage in a partnership announced in July 2025, during which Uber invested $300 million in Lucid and an undisclosed “multi-hundred-million dollar” amount in Nuro. The Lucid Gravity robotaxi was publicly introduced in January 2026. It is equipped with high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar sensors, and radar arrays that feed into Nuro’s autonomy system, which relies on Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computing platform.

      Currently, Nuro has 100 Lucid Gravity SUVs in its engineering fleet, which are utilized for real-world data collection and autonomous driving tests across various U.S. cities and states. Production of the modified vehicles for commercial use is anticipated to start in late 2026, according to a regulatory filing.

      The employee testing phase aims to assess how the autonomy stack, vehicle, and rider experience work cohesively in a real-world setting, with a particular focus on testing pickup and drop-off operations, which are among the most complex challenges in autonomous ride-hailing.

      Uber has committed to acquiring a minimum of 20,000 Gravity SUVs over the next six years and plans to operate this premium robotaxi service, likely with the support of a third-party operator. The partnership between Uber and Nuro is one of several robotaxi collaborations that Uber has formed as it pursues a platform strategy, allowing it to remain in the ride-hailing market without shouldering the complete costs of developing autonomous vehicle technology internally.

      Uber’s investment in Verne, a Zagreb-based robotaxi service that launched Europe’s first commercial autonomous ride service in April 2026, follows a similar rationale. A public launch for the Lucid/Nuro service in San Francisco is scheduled for later in 2026.